The Judge

Life is a courtroom,

Full of people,

All there for the same reason,

Patiently waiting for their name to be called,

One Judge ruling over,

Looking down on everyone,

From high up,

Sending some away and letting other's free,

The decision is in his hands.

The Dentist

She sat there,

Middle-aged,

Yet very young-looking,

Formally dressed in business attire,

Patiently waiting for her name to be called.

The dentist office dead quiet,

Ticking from the clock heard in dead silence,

With the occasional turn of a page from a magazine.

She barely looked up,

Just staring down,

Reading her magazine,

She looked tense and nervous,

Anyone could tell by looking at her,

The secretary called out a name,

She got up and walked to the back,

Never to be seen again.

wiki 5 - 0/20 no post for 11/6

wiki 4 - 0/20 - No post as of 10/30

wiki 3 - 0/20 - No post as of 10/23

wiki 2 - 20/20 due 10/16 - no post.

Pastor Arle's sermon

     I thought that pastor Arle's speech(sermon) was not very well delivered.  The reason for this is a couple different points.  First, his tone was not very enthusiastic.  What I mean by this is that his voice sounded mellow and boring, like it was putting the listeners to sleep.  Another point is that he would suddenly start speaking off in a tangent and telling a story, which you would think would relate to his sermon, but when it was done it didn't.  He would also pause for awhile, as if to try to remember what he was going to say, but then he would start talking again like he hadn't forgot anything, and that he just paused for no reason at all.  You could also look around the room and see people laughing because of the way he would just start talking in tangents.  His sermon had a good message though.  He talked like a person's old old grandfather, telling story from when he was younger.  He kept saying things like, "Back when I was your age...".  It was entertaining to hear him speak but it was not good along the lines of professional public speaking.

Public Speaking 10/9/09 wiki 1  - 20/20 - great job. I moved your input to the TOP of the wiki page. Please always work from the top down.

Joseph Fiennes "Angola" Speech

     I thought that the speech was a good speech, and that the way the speaker presented the information was very good and appropriate for the topic.  Joseph Fiennes, the speaker, had very good eye contact throughout the entire speech.  He did especially well on it, because it was a read speech and he was looking up at his audience about 50 percent of the time.  His posture was good and the same throughout, and his hand placement was good too.  His right hand held his speech, and his free hand either hung by his side, or helped turn the page on his speech.  He had no podium to place his speech on, all he had was the microphone and his speech.  He also used emotion and pausing to help communicate his point the the audience, and it showed the audience how much he cared about what he was talking about.  All-in-all it was a good speech and I think that he communicated his point to the audience very well.  

Was Sammy a "winner" or a "loser" for making the choice he made in the story?

     In my opinion, Sammy was a "loser" for making the choice he made in the story.  He was a "loser," because he didn't benefit anything from the choice he made.  Not only did he not benefit anything, but nothing good happened because of him quitting his job.  The girls didn't hear him when he said that he quit, he lost his job so he has to find another one, and his parents are going to disappointed at him for quitting.  Even at the end of his story, he says he feels how hard the world was going to be to him thereafter. 

What parts of Updike's style did you like/dislike? Is this a "good" story?

     I liked Updike's style of writing, because it was written how people talk every day.  He didn't use big, confusing words or use styles of writing that were confusing to where I couldn't understand what he was talking about.  The story was a quick easy read and easily understandable.  It did seem that that throughout the entire story he was just describing the girls, and after awhile it was just creepy.  All-in-all it was a good story, definitely better than The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky.

Good job on wk. 1 - I enjoyed hearing your ideas and opinions. It helps me get an idea about the styles you find enjoyable.

Your thoughts? Is it right or wrong for Mike to do what he does to (for?) his grandma?

     It is right for mike to do what he did to his grandma, because at first, he didn't know what to say, but then he tried telling his grandma that it was him and not his grandpa, and that was the right thing to do.  His grandma acted like she didn't hear him, or maybe she really didn't hear him, so he just stood there, which is what most people would've done. 

Would you consider what Mike did an act of deception? Is he lying or not?

     I would not consider what mike did to be an act of deception, because he wasn't trying to deceive his grandma.  His grandma was just old and her mind was slipping away.  He technically is lying, but its not bad because he was just trying to make his grandma feel better, and most likely if his grandma would've said that to his grandpa then he would've forgiven her.

When or how will Mike know it is time to regrow his moustache?

     He'll know that its time to regrow his moustache when he gets a little bit older and most likely after his grandma dies.  Or he just won't ever regrow his moustache which would probably be better.

 I hate to be a nag about this... but 2, 100word entries means that you need to DO that. Don't write a third one hoping that will cover it. Take a bit more time and THINK about what you could say about the story or add your own other reactions. 13/20

How did it make you feel when at the end you had rooted for an "anti-hero" (Stendahl, the murderer) to succeed? How was Bradbury able to make you want to see him succeed?

     When I realized that i had rooted for an anti-hero to succeed, it didn't bother me, because at the time of the story, society was so messed up that Stendahl's perspective was actually right.  I don't agree with him killing everybody and turning them into robots, but I do think that something should've been done to try and fix things.  And the way Stendahl tried to fix things was amusing and made for a good story.  Also, I knew the whole time that I was rooting for the anti-hero; it didn't take till the end of the story to catch on. 

Does this story fall more into the category of horror... or into the category of sci-fi? How do you think it stacks up compared to the original by Poe? Is it better or not as good? Why?

     As a story, this falls more into the category of sci-fi, because it is futuristic and there are robots, which are aspects of a sci-fi movie.  Although, if the story was made into a movie, it would be more like a horror movie, because of the killing.  Movies tend to focus more on the suspense of the killing and the gore.  The original by Poe had alot more descriptive details, and it focused more on the dark, gloomy, scary details.  This version focused more on the story concept and the messed up futuristic world.  I liked Usher II better than the first, because it was an easier read, and it had more of a story to it.

Great job on wiki 3! Hey don't forget to turn in your AUP to the office. I have heard from Miss Timm that your computer privileges have been turned off until you do it!

No post on week 4. 0/20

First, I want to know what you think... then I'll ask a few questions.

wiki 5 - Great job on your posts this week. You have a lot of interesting ideas and I enjoy hearing them. 

     I thought that it was a good story because it seemed real.  What I mean by that is that the way characters react to the death of the mother is how i think most people react in real life.  Mintah did a good job dealing with her mother's death, both before and after she died.  Mintah did a good job at trying to act normal, like she didn't know her mother was going to die, and she did good with dealing with her mother's death afterwards (she didn't go out and do something stupid).  Also, the story was not as "tear-jerking" as I originally thought it would be.  It was a sad story, but I don't think people would cry because of it, unless someone has experienced what happened in the story in real life, like their mother dying.  It had a good ending too. 

Makes me wonder if any of you have seen this same dynamic at work in the more "grown up" world of high school... not, of course with beatings, but with making a new person (or outsider) "suffer" just because at some point someone made you suffer.... or feel left out just because, at one point when you were new, you felt left out. Does it happen among us? Is the prejudice to be confronted here that it is okay to dish out what we once had to take ourselves? If we accept that "that's just how it is".... does that mean there's no way to break the cycle? What would it take to change it?

     Yes what happened in the story happens among us too.  When it happens, it's not beating people up, but its being mean to them or making fun of them.  The prejudice that is being confronted is that people "dish out" what they once had to take themselves.  The only way to break the cycle is for people to be the bigger person and help and accept new people instead of being mean to them.  Even though people had once been left out and made fun of, they need to see how bad it hurts and try to make sure that it doesn't happen to other people so then maybe those people won't be mean to other new people and so on.  But this would require almost everyone to do this, and that would never happen, because there are always people who just don't care and will do things their way, no matter how it affects other people.  So all-in-all there really isn't a way that the cycle will ever be broken.